Carolyn Penny, J.D.

Carolyn Penny serves as Director of Campus Dialogue and Deliberation at the University of California, Davis, working at the juncture of conflict resolution, public engagement, and group dynamics to design and deliver initiatives to resolve issues and build community across the campus.  Carolyn has 30 years of experience in conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving of complex public policy disputes as well as leadership education, strategic and organizational planning, stakeholder input process design, issue framing, facilitation of public engagement processes, and analysis and writing. 

Carolyn has facilitated collaborative problem solving and designed stakeholder input processes for multi-stakeholder groups on issues including species recovery, water use, agriculture, transportation, land use, air quality, and education.  Clients include the California Department of Fish and Game, the City of Woodland, the US Department of Agriculture, the Nature Conservancy, and UC Davis.

Experienced in issue framing and the facilitation of public engagement processes, Carolyn served as the Director of the UC Davis Issue Framing Workshop for six years.  In her capacity as issue framer and facilitator of public engagement processes, Carolyn has served clients including the City of Davis, the Kettering Foundation, and the League of Women Voters of California. 

Carolyn is a mediator with 30 years of experience in conflict resolution on issues including neighborhood disputes, business disputes, child custody disputes, and settlement of small claims court cases.  She has mediated for the City of Davis, the Sacramento Mediation Center, the San Diego Mediation Center, and Yolo County Small Claims Court.  Carolyn has trained community members in conflict resolution skills since 1989.